


Happenstance

by scifi (orphan_account)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, an au where the doctor and rose were never reunited in s4, set during series 4.5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 13:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21320995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/scifi
Summary: There was a scientific reason behind everything but for that little while, happenstance would be a sufficient explanation.~[originally written in 2015]
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Kudos: 20





	Happenstance

**Author's Note:**

> hiya! this fic was originally written in january 2015 over on wattpad (i'm called warpdrive over there) but i wanted to move a few fics from my teen years over to ao3 bc i guess i'm a little bit sentimental? 
> 
> despite the flaws of my novice writing, i still kinda like this fic so i hope all you tenrose fans enjoy <3

The time lord's hearts froze for a moment, his entire body ceasing to move as if to do so would cause the moment to shatter into oblivion.

Starlight danced across the sky, familiar constellations joined together to form vague shapes above his head. Trees had lost their blankets of green, standing on barren ground unsheathed to the elements. A crisp breeze carried faded scents of sweet grass, dewdrops and the last remnants of the spring days that had escaped the oncoming bite of the winter months and the hum of nocturnal life sung symphonies throughout the night.

All that surrounded him was not important; not anymore. There were countless planets within immeasurable galaxies contained in infinite universes and of all the places in all of space and time, he had come across the thing that made his muscles freeze and speech flee from forming into sound.

Silver light from the celestial bodies above painted her blonde hair almost white and shadows played at her feet; a soft copy of herself attached at her heels. Her shadow was not looking at him and neither was she. His presence was still unknown and to him, the idea of her presence eluded his mind, unsure to exactly how she could be in front of him.

He had lost her many years ago; trapped in an unreachable universe. She was further away than fragile minds could fathom and each day without her had been just as unfathomable. There were some days when he thought about just not continuing but each and every day he somehow pulled through; almost forgetting about the one he lost.

The time lord's hearts picked up from the beats they had skipped, his mouth moved to form words although each time he tried no sound came out. It was if his tongue had become stone; no syllables could be spoken.

In front of him, she shifted slightly. She was just standing there; in the middle of the bare woods, eyes trained on the sky above and mind obviously wondering. He didn't want to spoil her peace although he had already gone too far; they were within the confines of the same universe once more the thought of exactly how that was true evaded his stumbling mind. There was a scientific reason behind everything but for that little while, happenstance would be a sufficient explanation.

His feet shuffled lightly to the right and without even thinking, his toes fell upon a brittle frostbitten twig, snapping the fragile thing within an instant.

His hearts proceeded to accelerate with both fear and excitement as the noise caused the girl with starlight hair to turn around.

Her eyes were unchanged, still their mix between brown and green although not exactly of the hazel hue. They reflected the sky dancing above their heads and when they landed upon him, she only blinked thrice as if in disbelief.

Lips shaped as if they were sculpted by the gods, parted as her jaw became slack. He could see the way she held her breath; undergoing a moment similar to what he had encountered just prior.

He wanted to run, both towards her and away from her but when his name slipped off her lips, his mind simultaneously melted at the sound and decided on the latter option.

"Doctor?" her voice was doubtful but still contained the delightful quirks and the way she strung syllables perfectly together in her own vocal melodies.

His tongue was still stone, refusing to move although a smile - a smile that had not bloomed on his face since her departure - slowly melted into existence upon his lips.

Tears glistened in her eyes although he was unsure if they were caused by utter joy or dismay. His legs chose that moment to jump back into movement, carrying him to her so his arms could wrap around the body he once knew perfectly.

She clung onto him as if to let go would cause him to disappear and he didn't mind one bit. His face became buried in her blonde hair and he breathed in her scent; the scent that still lingered in the deep corridors within the TARDIS.

"Rose," he whispered, voice dancing with joy, relief, affection, pain and desire. Each time after she became lost to him, her name had been a curse; dredging up pleasant memories tainted by her loss but now her name was sacred, every letter was revered and to say her name was an experience he relished.

He could feel her smile against his neck as she clung to him even tighter. "How?" she asked, voice soft.

"Does it matter?" he replied edging his neck back so he could look at her face.

Black lashes framed her eyes although they were no longer as clumped as when they used to venture through space. He noticed faint lines at the corners of her eyes although they seemed to be more connected to her smile than to age. Her eyes, the colour he still could never pinpoint but tended to call hazel, stared at him, flitting around as if she was reciting his face cell by cell. Her tongue appeared through white teeth, sitting between them; a facet about Rose he was most fond of.

"You haven't aged a day," he whispered, hand travelling to her hair to stroke soft strands of hair washed silver in the starlight.

"You're still wearing that brown pinstripe suit," she rolled her eyes at his flattery but he picked up on her flushed cheeks which caused him to smirk.

"Oh yes," his voice faded into the song of the night around them and his hearts fell into discord; erratic fluttering's instead of a steady rhythm.

"How long for you?" Rose Tyler asked; teeth clamping down gently onto her bottom lip out of worry.

"A few years, they all blend into each other the closer you get to the big one thousand," he watched as her breath became hitched when he continued, "what about you?"

"Just over ten years," her voice was barely more than a murmur and it sent his hearts tearing into four. She had spent more time without him than he had without her.

"I'm so sorry Rose," he began but was cut off by a slender finger pressed against his lips.

"You're here, that's all that matters," she smiled to reassure him before removing her finger, allowing the Doctor to speak.

"Some say that it's happenstance," he imputed, both hands now wandering through her silken hair.

"It may have been a decade but with you isn't their always a scientific explanation?" she raised her eyebrows, a smirk blossoming on her lips.

"We can work that out later," he shrugged as if science was no longer of importance. Of course it wasn't important, nothing was important when compared to the pink and yellow girl in front of him.

"We?" brows rose even higher in disbelief of the words she just heard.

"Yes, we," the Doctor chuckled, "You want to come travel all of space and time with me again? Right?"

Her jaw dropped for the second time before her arms fastened around him, pulling him so tight that if she was any stronger, his bones would probably break. "Of course I will Doctor, how could I say no?" Rose giggled into his shoulder and she was responded with the Doctor's attempt of a similar expression of laughter.

"The TARDIS missed you, she used to whine at all hours of the night about how lonely it was without the yellow human within her corridors," he pried himself loose of her grip in favour of taking her hand within his own, relishing the beauty of how perfectly they fit in each other's hold. "She's just not far from here, do you wanna go?"

Rose squeezed his hand and nodded, lips pulled wide from cheek to cheek, "Lead the way."

The Doctor, with Rose in tow, wove through the stark trees and barren land until the TARDIS came into view. Beside him Rose was almost about to jump out of her skin if that meant getting to the police box sooner. "She's even more beautiful than I remember," Rose whispered with awe, which was responded by a laughing Doctor.

"Don't flatter her too much, for a ship she can have one big ego," his hands fell into impossibly big pockets, about to rummage for the TARDIS key but the Doctor froze, lips quirking into a smile as he remembered another method of entering worth showing his past companion.

He lifted one hand to eyelevel and with an eyebrow wiggle towards Rose, the Doctor clicked his fingers and in response the TARDIS doors swung open.

"What?" she asked, voice dripping with disbelief.

He gave her a wink and tugged her towards the entrance. They were at the doors when a question came to mind. The Doctor tossed up the question for several moments before deciding on just asking it, "what were you doing out in a forest in the middle of the night?"

She furrowed her brows for several seconds before coining a response, "I was thinking about you. Each night I look up at the stars and remember the days from so long ago and the journeys we used to go on and the people we met. The stars remind me of the near death experiences and the peaceful nights on the couch in front of a fire-"

"Rose?" the Doctor piped in, hearts racing at ten thousand beats a second.

"Yeah?"

He brought his face to hers and gently pressed their lips together. It was short and sweet; the kiss was ten years overdue. When they parted, the Doctor brought his eyes to hers and whispered something that was ten years overdue as well; three words, eight letters, that through happenstance he finally had the chance to say.

"I love you."


End file.
